


Number one

by SweetAlphaChild



Series: Tobidei week 2017 [6]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, TobiDei Week, TobiDei Week 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-18 17:45:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12393000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetAlphaChild/pseuds/SweetAlphaChild
Summary: He doesn't want to be in another love triangle against an inanimate concept, nor does he want to be in second place again. Obito wants to be number one.





	Number one

**Author's Note:**

> Day seven: Free  
> Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

It doesn't suit him to be so down. He's never seen him like this before, and he hates it.

Obito is afraid that Deidara will never be the same again. It has been a week since he saved his life, preventing him from using his C0 and he has barely spoken or moved from bed more than strictly necessary. If it had not been for him, worried about his well-being, who knows how the artist would have ended. He is partially responsible for that mindset, but of all the decisions he has made in life, that is the one he least regrets, no matter if that was what Deidara always wanted. That he was eagerly waiting for the moment to be one with his art was no secret to anyone. He refused to let him go, and he wasn't going to allow him to make such a decision without being of sound mind. Period.

Lately, Pein has been pushing him too much, he wants to focus on the capture of another jinchuuriki. There are only three left and Obito no longer knows what excuse he's going to give him next in order to buy them some time. But Zetsu is the most annoying one of the lot, insisting that by being unable to overcome his sadness, Deidara is no longer useful to them, and also hinting that he wants to eat him, which is the fate of all Akatsuki members whose usefulness came to an end. Obito is going to kill him if he mentions it again, in fact, he's going to kill him, but if he says it one more time, it will happen sooner.

Deidara considers himself an artist rather than a person. Obito won't allow him to create art, if that implies his death. It's the second tim he has fallen in love with someone, and he fears to be in second place again, as much as he hates having to feel immersed in another love triangle against an inanimate concept.

He left him alone to go buy spicy ramen, ginger tea and some bread rolls. He doesn't like to do it because he doesn't want to leave him unattended while Zetsu is around, but Deidara needs to eat, even when he claims not to be hungry. He also doesn't know if Itachi will want revenge, he has not seen him in the lair since the day before the incident, but the news of the fight must have already reached. Obito doesn't even care about Sasuke anymore. He would kill him right now if he was in front of him right now. He regrets not having done so when he had the perfect occasion.

Being the person who took him, without intending it, out of his toxic mindset, Obito was afraid of relapsing, but he didn't. Somehow, having Deidara depending on him gives him strength to do well and determination to cheer him up.

His heart skips a beat when he enters the room with the tray and he doesn't see him on the futon. Hundreds of crazy theories are passing through his head until he sees him in a corner, sitting on the floor hugging his own legs. He doesn't know the reason for the change, but he is glad to see that he is not lying in bed as usual.

"Time to eat, senpai," he announces, kneeling beside him and leaving the tray on the floor.

He no longer bothered to act like Tobi. He's been talking to him a lot these days, although most of the time he doesn't get an answer. He wants to know what he's thinking, and he's tempted to push him even though he knows he shouldn't. Obito has the feeling that Deidara has been recapitulating his entire life. As expected, he doesn't even look at him and it hurts. But he won't give up.

"I'd love to see you happy again," he mumbles, perhaps Deidara hates him now, but still he doesn't regret it. "Tell me what I can do to make you feel better."

As he still doesn't react, Obito's anxiety increases, the sensation has never left him since that day, he's still not used to it.

"Wasyour C0 all you cared about in life?" He says, unable to contain it, although he knows that it's not the most sensible or apropriate thing to say. "Senpai...! What am I to you? How much do you care about me?"

He is silent, he regrets what he's saying, but not enough to stop. His need to vent is bigger.

"What do I mean to you? I need to know it."

Deidara looks at him, but he still can not know what he's thinking. Obito feels so many things at the same time that he thinks that his chest is going to burst. He has cried more than in all his miserable life those days, but that time he manages to hold back his tears.

"Tobi," but his strength threatens to leave when he hears his name. "Why did you stop me?"

He has many reasons for doing so, and although he doesn't know how Deidara will react when he tells him, he intends to do it anyway. He's not a pathetic thirteen year old anymore.

Although on occasions, he feels as if he still fits in the adjective description.

"I told you, you would have failed" there is a brief silence that threatens to extend for too long, Obito thinks that if he wants to talk, he can't let that moment pass, no matter how nervous he is. "Senpai, I like your art. But it's not as important to me as it is to you. And if that's the reason you're going to leave this world, then I won't respect it any more, I don't care what you think. I don't want you to go so soon."

"I've had that idea planned for a long time. You ruined my greatest work."

It's not what he wants to hear, but at least he's not silent anymore. If he's talking, then that's a good sign.

"I've had ideas planned for a long time, too. You aren't the only one" he takes a deep breath to calm down, if there is something he has learned in these years is how to use words, he's not trying to manipulate him, just to convince him. He hugs him and although he doesn't hug him back, he holds to the fabric of one of his sleeves, and for him it's enough. "Senpai, I know you care about me, you wouldn't have apologized to me if you didn't. But this time I won't go second. Not even against your art. I want to be number one."

"I've never seen you so confident before, hm."

"Like I told you, I had plans, too. But that doesn't matter anymore, because I already decided to put you first." Taking the mask off, he kissed the left side of his forehead, Obito continued. "If you died there at that moment, it would have only made things easier for me and what I wanted to achieve. When you recover, I'll tell you everything. I pondered over the dilema for a long, long time. But when I saw you about to give your life in the name of art, it was all clear, I knew I didn't want that to happen, no matter what, making my mind took me a lot less than I thought it would. And if I had to go back in time, I would do it again, I don't care how many of your works of art I have to ruin. No price is too high if it's for your sake.

He's already told him everything he wanted to say. Obito feels better, freed of that burden. He's not used to follow that angle, and stepping out of his comfort zone unsettles him, perhaps he's been too blunt and ill-timed. Deidara's recovery matters more than his doubts after all. Maybe it's his fate to be the eternal number two. He knows very well what to do in the event that Deidara puts him before art. For the second scenario he has nothing planned. A long pillow talk awaits him, if that's the case. Whatever his response is, he no longer intends to carry on with the plan.

He loves him more than anything in life, but he won't let history repeat itself. Deidara lives happily with whatever life brings him, he made him notice which approach was better. Changing how things work, getting rid of the less pleasant sides of life using a genjutsu sounds like an insane idea to him now. He wants to be able to accept whatever his response is, however difficult may be one of the options.

Deidara is still silent and he doesn't pressure him to clarify that point, he's happy just by holding him in his arms, in silence. The food must be cold already.

"You already were number one," he says suddenly.

His breath stops, his eyes open wide. His heart beats out of control.

"Say it again," he asks.

"If you had not been, I wouldn't have apologized."

He smiles, not only because he now knows he is, but because he begins to feel that he deserves to be loved. He wants to leave behind his insecurities, make them explode and forget about them.

"That was going to be the culmination of my career... But I can still carry on creating. The end of all things is inevitable and mine doesn't have to be now."

"And now that both our plans have been ruined, we can only make new ones."

The new path of both promises to be better.

"I never needed anyone before, not like that, hm," he mumbles, making him blush. "At first it was annoying and I wanted to kill you for it. But I gave up."

"Hey..." he said, that twist in the conversation was less to his liking, he knew that under normal conditions, would not have been so easy to make him admit something like that.

Deidara hugs him and kisses the corner of his mouth. Obito didn't expect such bad aim coming from him, and soon amends the error, kissing him properly. It's not as if his fears are gone at once, but he has no more doubts. There is progress.

A kiss never tasted so well, and he never found so much happiness in a hug now that he knows he is number one. Not always Deidara is that docile, but Obito can't wait for him to be back to normal.

"You have to eat, senpai," he whispers, stroking his back.

Deidara looks at the tray he left on the floor next to him as if it were the first time he notices it. Taking it, he crosses his legs, rests it on his lap and takes a piece of meat with the chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu," he says before tossing it into his mouth.

He is no longer distressed, on the contrary. This is the first time he's been eating alone since he saved him. The rest of the problems, and the ones that surely are still to come, will be dealt with when the time comes, if he starts worrying now, he won't enjoy the moment fully.

"Sure is cold, now.

"I'll warm it up with my hands, that's fine.

It's a good idea, he could warm the tea for him. Obito takes the cup in his hands, concentrating chakra on them to generate heat. When he feels it's drinkable again, he takes a sip to check.

"Stop drinking my tea, hm.

When Deidara starts complaining, it means things are going well.

"I just made sure it was perfect for you," he says, smiling.

"Excuses. Want to try the ramen too? Or is it too much for you?"

Unlike him, Obito detests spicy things, but now that he can see some improvement in his mood, he can't help but accept the challenge.

"Of course it's not too much! Do you want me to prove it to you, senpai?"

Taking a handful of noodles with the chopsticks, he brings them to his mouth. Now, that's hell. No sooner had they touched his tongue, Obito already wanted to drink a whole river. He swallows them, almost without chewing, without realizing that a tear has come out his eye. He needs water urgently and can not understand how Deidara can keep his cool after having a whole bowl of the stuff.

"Are you ok, Tobi?" He says innocently, staring at him without even blinking. "Is the ramen good?"

"Lovely," he lies.

"Do you want more?" He offered, with feigned kindness.

"Stop it, senpai. I don't need to eat, you do."

And when he sees him hold a laugh, a few more tears fall from Obito's eyes, this time, for a different reason.

**Author's Note:**

> I never use Japanese words while writing in other languages, however, I always make an exception with "Itadakimasu", since I haven't found a way to translate it that convinces me. Someone told me that "Let's eat" would be a decent western interpretation, and I agree, but I don't know if it would work in this context.  
> I've written before about the moment Tobi saves Deidara from his C0, during the fight against Sasuke. Even if that's Deidara's ultimate goal, it didn't have to be at that time. Art is a huge part of his character, and I imagined him having a crisis, however, he's still a brat in some aspects and he wasn't of sound mind when he did that decision. Obito appears here more mature and less insecure than I normally portray him. That was due to Deidara being so upset, he was forced to take control for the two of them.  
> Well! What else can I say. It's been a great week! A lot of amazing fanfics have come out of it, even writing under pressure was fun in its own way lol. Thanks to everyone that wanted to show his appreciation for the couple, writing, drawing or reading.  
> I plan to hold this event again next year in case someone was wondering.


End file.
